- Date
- December 31, 1988, 12:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Somerville, NJ
- Injuries
- 2 serious, 2 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N90393Piper PA-60
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 11, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19881231057159A
- Case key
- 36358
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Improper inflight decisions while approaching the airport on final approach with defective magnetos. The right fuel selector was placed in the closed position, the pilot attempted a go around, raised the landing gear and flaps, failed to maintain VMC, and crashed into wooded terrain.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The aircraft was on final approach to runway 30 at somerset airport, Somerville, new jersey when there was a loss of power of the right engine. The pilot raised the landing gear and flaps, and the aircraft rolled to the right, descended toward the ground and crashed. The fuel selector valve to the right wing tank was in the closed position. The right engine magnetos were defective.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N90393
- Reported as
- Piper PA-60
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 60-0224-095
- Airframe hours
- 2,049
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-K1F5, 290 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Albert T. Gianchiglia
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 29, 1989 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- 1N7 · Blairstown, NJ
- Destination
- N52
- Airport
- N52 · Somerset, runway 30, 2,735 × 65 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 44
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,300 total · 800 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 39 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ABE, 35 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.